[DodgeGirlKathy]

Lease or buy?

For those of you getting a Caliber, are you leasing or buying?
Have you leased or bought your previous vehicles?


My answers:

Caliber - Buying. I'm tired of having to watch my miles and saying 'no' to some road trips just to avoid putting miles on the car. Plus I am looking forward to not having a car payment in a few years when it's paid off!

Previous 3 cars - leased. I did that to get more options for less money. But it really went against family values. We've always been buyers, taking good care of vehicles and keeping them for a long long time.

Previous 3 cars before that - bought.

 

[Xtreme Thunder]

Buy!

I have bought my previous vehicle: 2000 Neon

 

[nygiantzz1]

I am buying my SXT. There are advantages to leasing, but I prefer to own it outright.

 

[Steve Desjardins]

4/4 sold have been leased here in Windsor. They lease for 350 tax included with 0 down. And the buyout is only $10,900 after the 39 months.

 

[msuggs]

For the first time ever, the dealer I bought from is really pushing leasing. It really depends on whether you will be getting rid of the car in 2-3 years according to them.

Commence braindump:
Right now, the best lease term is 27 mos. My payment would be $60/mo less than purchasing. The added option at the end of the lease is you can walk away and not worry about the trade or sell value.

If you plan to keep it 3+ years, then buy, or lease for 27mo. then you still have the option of buying it at the remaining value.

For me, it comes down to two things:
1. Will I be trading it for something else in 2-3 years.
2. Mileage

Lease Example I was given:
-The 27 mo least for 15,000 miles/yr. is $60 less per month. (total savings of $1600 over $27 mo)
-The 27 mo lease for 20,000 miles/yr. is about the same price per/mo as buying.

Given this example:
If I choose the 15,000 mile lease and lets say I go over by 5,000 miles/yr. I would have to pay the fee for 5000 miles or about $750 (at .15 cents/mile).

Over 2 yrs, this would be $1500. I am saving $1600 by going with the 15,000 mile lease. So, for me, it would pay to lease at 15,000 miles, pay the lower payment (and maybe bank the difference just in case I go over). If I don't , I have $1500 to use as I wish. Given my driving habits, this would be the best deal for us. Plus we have the option to purchase the car with at the remaining value.

This will all depend on your terms, conditions, sales prices, options etc. It would be worth asking your dealer about this and examine the options based on your needs. I have never leased a card, but I'm considering it on this one.

The car we are replacing this with was driven about 31,000 miles over 27 mo. which puts us within the lease mileage of 15,000. We could still go with the 20,000 mile lease and still pay $10 less per/mo and still get to walk away at the end of the lease. They also said you could walk away from the lease at any time during the 27 months if you are within the mileage limits. Or you would just pay the overage.

Hope this helps.
Remember, this comes from someone who has never leased. Just repeating what I was told.

 

[skoprowski]

If you are going to buy a first production Caliber, I would be more inclined to lease the car than buy it. Hopefully there will be no major issues with the first run Calibers, but you never know.

 

[Vision67]

Did you know that most people who lease a car never lease another?

Leasing makes sense for only a very select group:

1. They lease for a term no longer than the factory warranty.
2. They have an assured income stream that is predictible and not at risk.
3. They may have leased for business so they can deduct the expense.
4. Their wealth is invested and is returning a rate much greater than the leased money factor.
5. They know how many miles they will be driving for the duration of the lease.

Most people do not fit the group. Most people are just trying to attain a new car with the minimum payment. The problem is that you build no equity and you carry a very big risk of having a lease payment due without the income needed to make that payment.

My Advice: Buy the car. Pay it off as quickly as possible. Meticulously maintain it and make it last as long as possible.

 

[Steve Desjardins]

the only time you have equity in a new car is after it is paid off. try trading in a car before its paid off.

 

[Vision67]

the only time you have equity in a new car is after it is paid off. try trading in a car before its paid off.

Surely, you jest. If a person puts down 50%, and the car depreciates by 20% when it is driven off the lot, he still has 30% equity.

$20K sales price
$10K loan amount

-$4K depreciation on day 1

$16K value of car
$6K Equity (30%)

However, never use the word car and investment in the same sentence unless there is a "not" between them,

That's why the best thing to do is to keep it for as long as possible.

 

[msuggs]

My experience is that by the time it's paid off, I wouldn't want the car anymore. although I have kept a few past the payoff time, but not long after.

I'm now leaning towards leasing because I have been trading cars around every 3 years anyway. I've had my last 3 cars less than 3 yrs. each. Mainly due to technology changes and maintenance issues go way up after the third year.

 

[Vision67]

My experience is that by the time it's paid off, I wouldn't want the car anymore. although I have kept a few past the payoff time, but not long after.

I'm now leaning towards leasing because I have been trading cars around every 3 years anyway. I've had my last 3 cars less than 3 yrs. each. Mainly due to technology changes and maintenance issues go way up after the third year.

If you trade every 3 years and your life is predictable, then leasing might make sense, especially if the residual is attractive. But usually, that means a Japanese car is a better pick because they tend to have better residuals.

However, if you trade every 3 years you are spending way more than I ever would on cars. I keep my cars more than 10 years.

Pay the money and take your chance!

 

[Steve Desjardins]

The caliber residuals are awsome.

59% 24&27 months
52% 36&39 months

 

[msuggs]

The caliber residuals are awsome.

59% 24&27 months
52% 36&39 months

I don't know a lot about residuals, but I think they were quoting me 61% last night? Depending and which term we were looking at.

 

[msuggs]

If you trade every 3 years and your life is predictable, then leasing might make sense, especially if the residual is attractive. But usually, that means a Japanese car is a better pick because they tend to have better residuals.

However, if you trade every 3 years you are spending way more than I ever would on cars. I keep my cars more than 10 years.

Pay the money and take your chance!

Life is a chance. I never made money off a car ever, or anything else for that matter. I do think it's more of a risk to purchase, especially used cars (unless it's a truck!)

Since we trade for newer stuff anyway, it's starting to make more sense to lease. Plus the rate is 4.9% as opposed to 6.25% to buy. I havn't decided yet, but the numbers are hard to ignore. $60 less per month on something I'm going to trade in anyway for payoff is a lot.

 

[High Caliber]

If you are going to modify it at all. Buy it or you are wasting your money on mods.

 

[Vision67]

The caliber residuals are awsome.

59% 24&27 months
52% 36&39 months

One factor in favor of leasing is that with residuals that high, it creates a way for a risk-adverse customer to hedge against the risk of early failure of the new CVT. I'll bet some informed customers will be wary of this technology, particularly because it has failed on some other vehicles, e.g. Saturn Vue.

If the transmissions wear out prematurely, the residual forces the leasor to accept the loss.

 

[Silverfox]

If you modify it, don't throw away or sell the old parts and make sure you install them again when you go to turn the vehicle back in.